What Did You Expect?
by pick a star any star
Summary: In medieval England, Sarah Williams' village is controlled by the evil Lord Jareth. He prevents himself from being attacked and overthrown by building a large hedge maze around his manor. And now, he is looking for a wife to give him an heir.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hello, I'm Julie and I have been reading a lot of Labyrinth fics lately (I thought that there wouldn't be any and then I realized that there were like… A LOT) and I was really surprised to find that there are HARDLY ANY AU (alternate universe) stories. SOOO… I decided that I would write one! Mwahahaha… I need to buy non-caffeinated tea… ON WITH THE STORY… and if there is any historical inaccuracies… please give me a break, I learned about this shit in seventh grade like… seven years ago.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Labyrinth, BUT I DO OWN THE PLOT! THAT'S JUST AS GOOD! Right?

Summary: In medieval England, Sarah Williams' village is controlled by the evil Lord Jareth. He takes egregious taxes on the citizens and prevents himself from being attacked and overthrown by building a large hedge maze around his manor. And now, he is looking for a wife to provide him with an heir.

Chapter One

Sarah

Sarah straightened and raised her arms above her head, wincing at the cracking noise her back made as she stretched. She shouldn't be this sore already; it was only half way through the workday. She stared up at the sun that was currently blazing down on the field that she was currently working in. That she had started working on when she was twelve, four years ago. And she would continue working there for the rest of her life, except of course for nine months here or there where she would be popping out children for a husband. She should be getting married soon now, most girls her age, fifteen, already were.

She looked across the field at her father, Robert, who was already finished with his second row and started to work again. She couldn't let herself fall to far behind, as her stepmother, Karen wasn't working for a few more months while her newborn baby grew up a bit more. Sarah sighed at the thought of Karen's son, Toby. He wasn't a bad kid, per say, but he took all of her father's attention, and he made trying to build a relationship with Karen all but impossible.

Sarah's own mother had died a few years previously under tragic circumstances. Well, Sarah thought that they were tragic. Everyone else said that her mother was unreasonable about the whole ordeal. A shadow fell over her row in the fields as the sun moved behind the large Manor that dominated the landscape of her village. Behind that massive hedge maze that was built around it, Lord Jareth was most likely trying to think of another reason to raise taxes. Lord Jareth was a tyrant and if he hadn't built that labyrinth around his manor, he would have been overthrown years ago. As it was, he would be replaced soon anyway, as he was unmarried and heirless. That was where her mother had gotten into trouble. Her mother, Linda, had been the most beautiful woman in the kingdom, and naturally when Jareth realized that he needed an heir, he wanted only the best to give it to him. He didn't seem to mind that the woman he wanted was already married with a young daughter. Her mother had minded however, and she had refused him.

That hadn't gone down to well with Jareth, who was used to getting everything that he wanted, whenever he wanted. However, he pretended to understand, and told her that he would allow her to return to her family if she navigated her way through his massive maze within a time constraint of thirteen hours. However, the maze must have been more dangerous than anyone knew, as a day later her mother's body was returned for them to bury.

She looked angrily up at the Manor before returning to work, thanking the heavens that Jareth would soon be replaced, as he had no heir to replace him when he got too old to take care of the village.

_:-*-:_

Jareth

Lord Jareth reclined back on his thrown, pondering two things. First he pondered, as ever, on a way he could plausibly tax his citizens more. Second, he pondered "the heir problem". It was unavoidable, he needed one, and soon. He thought he had solved it when he decided to marry the beautiful Linda Williams, but that situation had ended rather… problematically, to say the least. He needed an heir, and although he didn't want to be married, he would have to or risk his father removing him and giving the kingdom to his younger brother.

There was only one thing to do, pick a bride and have her give him a child. Then he could arrange an "accident" for the girl and be free of the constraints of marriage.

"Hoggle!" he called, and the fat, old, pockmarked man came waddling into the throne room as fast as he could.

"Yes my Lord Jareth?" he asked in a sickeningly subservient manner.

"Hobble," Jareth said, purposefully getting his chief of security's name incorrect. "I require you to go and gather all young women of marrying age in the square, and I want it done this evening. If one is sick… well, tell her and her family that she will have plenty of time to recover after I'm through." He turned his attention to a glass ball that he kept on hand, rolling it over and over in his fingers. "If it isn't to complex for your tiny mind to handle, try to put the prettier ones toward the front, would you?" Both Jareth and Hoggle knew that that was not a suggestion, it was an order.

"Yes sir, of course sir" Hoggle said, backing quickly out of the thrown room, wondering how he would get all of the young women in the kingdom in the square by that evening.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: OH MY SWEET BABY JESUS (sorry if I just offended anyone) YOU GUYS ROCK! 22 FREAKING NOTIFICATIONS? DO YOU GUYS KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS TO ME ON MY FIRST STORY? I want to take you all to lunch and personally thank each of you. You all just increase my happiness by so much, you have no idea. Sorry for the wait, finals suck. However, soon I will be able to start posting more regularly. One more time: THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH!

Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue, I own nothing so please don't sue! Seriously, I don't even own that disclaimer.

CH 2

Sarah

As Sarah walked home from the fields that day with her father in the orange light of the sunset, she noticed a figure on horseback approaching them. The small size of both horse and rider alerted Sarah to the identity before she could really see them.

"Sir Didymus!" she called out, running towards him and his steed, leaving her father behind. Sarah had known Sir Didymus ever since she was very young, and when he saw her running towards him, he dismounted and swept into a low bow.

"My Lady," he said in a curiously high voice " It is splendid to see you. However, I am afraid our meeting is one under rather grievous circumstances." He paused, and Sarah looked at him curiously. "I am afraid that his Lordship is to pick a bride on this very evening, and all the young maidens of the kingdom are required to gather in the square at all haste."

Sarah stood very still for a moment, shocked. There was a chance that she could be forced to marry the man who had caused her Mother's death. "But Sir Didymus," Sarah began, "He would never pick me, would he? I mean, I look just like a woman who he murdered, surely I could only remind him of his guilt for that." Sarah wanted Didymus to tell her that she was right, that the King had a soul and would not be interested in a girl who struck and alarming resemblance to the woman he had chosen before.

"Alas My Lady, I fear that your mother will play a very small part in his opinion of you, as he remembers your mother only with a vague resentment. He has scarcely thought about her in years. However, you may already be late! I fear that we are walking in the wrong direction. Make haste to the square! I must go on and make certain that no other young maiden has missed the summons." With those last words, Sir Didymus remounted his horse, Ambrosious, and rode away, leaving a speechless Sarah in his wake. Lord Jareth had killed her mother and scarcely remembered her? What kind of a monster was he?

Sarah composed herself and started running towards the square. If she had to be in the square she did not want to draw extra attention to herself by being late.

As she neared the square, she located the sound of trumpets blaring. 'Great" she thought. 'Just in time to see his royal soullessness enter the square'. She slipped in quietly and found Karen, her Father, and Toby standing on the edge, near the front. She moved toward them and stood on the edge of the crowd of girls, as close as she could get without drawing attention to herself for being out of the group.

As she got settled, she cursed herself for being in the second-to-front row. He would definitely see her; there would be no avoiding it. She was just considering changing places to be farther back when He entered the square. HE didn't look a day older than when he came to take her mother away from her, if fact, he might even be wearing the same clothes.

The same short, pudgy old man that he had been with to come and collect her Mother, Higgle or something, and he was nervously darting about Jareth, stammering out the occasional coherent sentence, accompanied him. "You s-s-see your Lordship? Just like you said, pretty ones in the front, just like you asked me to, your Lordship sir."

Jareth, on the opposite side of the square, started strolling down the line, looking bored and making rude comments to the girls Sarah had known since she was born. "Let's take a look-see. Hate your hair. Not likely. Yikes. Yikes. Yikes. And, let me guess, you have a great personality." He looked over at Higgle. "Is this really the best you could do?"

"N-no sir! The REALLY pretty ones are over here! Just keep walking…"

Jareth continued strolling down the line, looking bored and unimpressed, until he came to the very end and he looked back a row, meeting Sarah's eyes. His upper lip slowly pulled back into a smirk.

Jareth

Jareth had been enormously underwhelmed by the girls in the village, and was seriously considering banishing Hog's Breath, no Hogwart, no… for a moment he amused himself thinking up variations of Hoggles name before refocusing. He had reached the end of the first row and was unimpressed. Then he looked back a row and was immediately met with a pair of large green eyes, filled with hatred. He stared, that was impossible, she was dead- and then he realized. The young girl who had stared at him so reproachfully when he took her mother from her now stood before hem, and my had she grown up nicely. He allowed a smirk to curl his usually unreadable features.

"Hogboll!" He called, and the little pushover came running.

"Yes sire?" he said, sweating nervously.

"Why wasn't this girl in the front?"

"Well you see sire, this girl wasn't here when I lined them up so I can't really be blamed-"

"Go back to the manor Humbug, I shall deal with you later." Hoggle slowly retreated from the square, only to start running when he reached the edge.

Jareth turned back to the girl before him. "Your name?" He asked, almost disinterestedly.

"Sarah. Sarah Williams" the girl replied, leaving no doubt that she was the daughter of that women he had planned to marry years ago.

"Well Sarah, Sarah Williams, Won't you step up here?" Stiffly and angrily, she did, and Jareth walked in a circle around her, allowing his eyes to skim everywhere. "Yes, " he said, returning to stand before her. "I think that you'll do very nicely." He grabbed her arm and started to drag he to his dark horse just outside the square when she started to protest.

"I'm sorry, but I don't have any intention to marry an arrogant, rude snob like you!" She said, wrenching her arm from his grasp.

Jareth contemplated her for a moment, his features schooled into an expressionless mask before he raised his had and slapped her across the face.

It was then that a small and annoying infant started to cry.

Sarah groaned, standing up and saying "Of please be quiet Toby." Jareth looked at the baby with sudden interest. The babe was her brother? That could work to his advantage.

"Now Sarah," Said Jareth "Would it really be so awful to marry me? If so, I could always just take that little… Toby, over there and make him my heir." As predicted, Sarah immediately began to protest. Then he did something he did not expect.

"Wait," she said, desperately "leave Toby out of this. How about a deal? Make me the same offer that you made my mother. Thirteen hours to get through your Labyrinth. If I win, then I go home and you leave my family alone. If I can't do it" she took a deep breath " I will marry you."

Jareth looked at her, weighing the pros and cons of that offer. In the end, the idea of having this lovely, fiery young creature married to him sounded more pleasant than merely taking her brother. If only he could guarantee that she would loose… Then he smirked. His Labyrinth was its own guarantee. He grabbed her arm, pulled her close and whispered in her ear: "Deal."

A/N: Ha, cliffhanger. I'm so evil. Anyway, I promise to update soon. Also, I will dedicate the next chapter to anyone who finds the Emperor's New Groove quote in here. By the way, I don't own that either


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Well, Hello dears. I know, how dare I show my face in these parts after an absence as long as mine. Well, shit got pretty real in the actual universe for a few months for me. I'm talking RECORDING CONTRACT! So anyway, that fell through, and then I got upset, and now I'm back. Thank you everyone for reviewing, it means a lot to me. This chapter is dedicated to BookWorm0001 for getting the Emperor's New Groove quote first! Well, onward and upward :-)

Disclaimer: Here's a minnie story. It's a tragedy, really. It goes "I don't own the Labyrinth". Thats the end.

* * *

Chapter 3

Sarah POV

Sarah was pulled away from Jareth and was allowing the guards to shunt her toward the carriage when she heard a small sound. Just a short cry, really. A baby's cry. Toby!

Sarah started pushing her way through the guards in order to get back to her family. They grabbed at her clothes and arms, their fingers scraping across her skin like pine needles, flimsy and ineffectual, and in no time she had broken through them and was running towards her family.

Just as she was sure she would make it, she felt an arm snake its way around her waist. If the guards had been pine needles, this arm was a steel bear trap, and she felt herself be pulled back against a strong, masculine chest. "And just where," a deep, sultry voice behind her whispered in her ear "do you think you're going?".

Sarah gasped and jerked against the arm she now realized belonged to Jareth, intending to pull away, or at least turn and face him. She may as well have been trying to stomp her feet through solid rock however, for the amount she moved.

She tried a more diplomatic approach than squirming. "I just want to say good bye to my family." she said in a voice filled with forced calm.

Jarath suddenly spun her around to face him, and gelled her about a foot in front of him by her shoulders. "And just what, Sarah, could I possibly gain from that arrangement?' he asked, with a smirk set so deeply into his face Sarah doubted that it would ever come out.

After a moment of careful, okay, frantic, contemplation Sarah managed to stutter out "Y-you would have m-my most sincere-"

"You weren't about to say gratitude, were you?" Jareth interrupted. "Why would you think that something as worthless as that would ever be a thing of value to me?" He quirked an eyebrow, and just when Sarah thought that he expected her to respond, he pulled her back in and whispered "However, I will allow you a last goodbye to your family. After you fail to beat my labyrinth you will never see them again, so I suppose that I couldn't begrudge you a last goodbye." He then turned her around again and pushed her toward her family without another word to her. However, he did call over his shoulder for the carriage to go ahead back to the castle, for he and his fiancé would meet them back at the manor.

Sarah ran back to her family without a second glance back at the monster she may be forced to marry. She had always been a fast runner, and in no time she was with her family. They al hugged and whispered goodbyes and I love yous, and too soon, Sarah was torn away back into the arms of the monster, no, the _goblin_, that was taking her away.

She allowed him to lead her to his horse with her step-mother's tears still drying on her cheeks. He lifted her up onto the saddle first, almost like a gentleman, before swinging himself up behind her.

"I will beat your labyrinth, and I will return here." Sarah said to Jareth as he steered the horse out of the square.

"Jareth only laughed and said "Dear Sarah, there are only two possible outcomes. Either you die, or you loose. You will never return here."

At that, he accelerated up the long road to the castle, causing Sarah to squirm uncomfortably in the seat, as she had never really been fond of horses.

When the entered the wooded section of the trail back to his manor, he slowed almost to a stop. He pressed himself further against Sarah's back and murmured in her ear "Sarah mine, unless you want to make a quick stop in the woods somewhere, I need you to stop squirming."

Sarah didn't understand. "I would love to stop." She replied, confused "In fact, I would love to just go back all together."

Sarah felt Jareth chuckle softly against her back. "That's not quite what I meant love."

"Well, if you're not taking me back, we might as well keep going." Sarah said, as though it was obvious. "However, if it appeases you I will stop squirming."

"You sound a touch pretentious love, using all of those big words." Jareth remarked. "Can you read?"

"Of course," Sarah replied, almost insulted. "Can't you?"

Jareth chuckled again. "Yes, I can." He said simply, and road off at full speed down the road once again.

* * *

Jareth POV

Jareth was beginning to like the slip of a girl he held in his arms as he neared the manor. She was so delightfully _innocent. _He bet that she would give him an amusing run through the labyrinth too. Maybe it would even be a close race for once, he had seen her practically fly across his town square to greet her peasant family. And she wasn't only, fast, but from what he knew of her so far, she seemed adequately intelligent. It was far to late in the day to start her running now, she would spend the night at the castle and begin at sun up.

"Hogsnock!" Jareth called as he reached the front gates of the castle. The small man came stumbling to meet Jareth, fearful of further incurring his wrath, as he was already in hot water. "There you are. Take my..._guest_ to a comfortable room far from mine." He said dismissively. As Hoggle started to lead Sarah away, Jareth called after them "Sleep well Sarah, for tomorrow at sun up you run my labyrinth."

She looked back at them with those green eyes, so hauntingly similar to those of the woman he had killed, nodded, and continued walking.

Jareth sighed. He needed a drink. HE wandered down to the wine cellar in hopes of finding the strongest and most expensive bottle he owned. He was supposed to want to kill her. That was his plan. She looses, she gives him a child, she conveniently falls of a cliff somewhere. But her eyes... he wanted them. He wanted he spicy wit, he wanted her delicious innocence. He wanted her slender yet feminine body writhing under his, begging him for more... He found a bottle, opened it and took a large swig.

The alcohol cleared his mind, and all of a sudden the solution was obvious, almost childishly so. He simply wouldn't kill her. There, problem solved. He would marry her, she would give him an heir, he would keep her until her beauty faded, and _then_ she would conveniently fall off a cliff somewhere. Just a slight change of plan.

He tilted the bottle back one last time, and sighed in relief at resolving the problem. Then he started up the stairs to his bed chamber, sleep on his mind. He had a big day tomorrow after all.

* * *

A/N: Done! Ah, Jareth is such an ass. So, a few final questions: did you like Sarah being all innocent like she was in this chapter? And do you want Sarah to win or loose the Labyrinth? She starts running next chapter. I'm thinking it will be the start through when she bites into the peach.

I know you guys see this annoying little note at the end of every fanfic you read, but reviews really are very encouraging. Thank you for reading everyone!


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